Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
Orlitza Nunnery
Situated to the west of Rila township, some 20 km from Rila Monastery, by the
northern side of the access road to the Monastery and the actual Pilgrim’s Road,
nunnery is declared a complex architectural, historical and cultural monument of
national significance.
The ancient stone walls of the nunnery have survived from the time of Voivod
Hrelyo; the earliest written records about it date from 1378. The nunnery was the last
stop of the procession carrying, in 1469, the remains of St. John of Rila from Tarnovo
to Rila Monastery, before it reached the Monastery itself.
The courtyard is terraced and fenced up with a stone wall; set within it are the
Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, the kitchen house (a two-story building with the
original stone-and-brick-cell masonry and wooden frame of pre-18 th c. Bulgarian
architecture), a cluster of 19 th c. living quarters and auxiliary buildings; a stone
drinking fountain with an inscription “1809”, built into the northern section of the
fence wall. The Church of Sts. Peter and Paul was built in 1491, and last renovated in
1863. Parts of the original painting are preserved intact above the main door and in
the altar apse.
4.4 Structure and aesthetic merit of the landscape
The evaluation and classification of landscapes in Rila Monastery Nature Park was
made on the basis of a Rapid Landscape Assessment (RLA) carried out in 2002,
where the landscapes were reviewed and assessed, both in the field and from
photographs, by a team of forest engineers and landscape architects.
4.4.1 Peculiarities of the landscapes within the Park
Typological classification of landscapes
The typology of landscapes is determined pursuant to the elements and characteristics
of lay of the land and the vegetation cover (Bulgarian State Standard – BSS, 17.8.01-
88), the list of most common landscapes in Rila National Park, the presence of water
basins and streams, the presence of cultural elements, as well as the extent of damage
inflicted on the landscape. The main types of landscapes identified during the field
assessment are listed in Appendix 25.
Topography and incline
Rila Monastery Nature Park is defined by a long and narrow river valley (that of the
Rilska River) with its characteristically steep slopes, that cuts across it, starting from
the western outskirts of Rila town. The main entryway into the territory of RMNP is
located in that same valley, a little ways to the east of Pastra village; from that point
the valley extends some six km inward into the Park, before branching into two long
valleys, those of the Rilska and its main tributary, the Iliyna River, reaching into the
very heart of the Rila mountain massif (see Fig. 4).
Rila monastery Nature Park
ManaegmentPlan - Draft
2004 - 2013
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